Former Chevron VP to speak at Mines commencement

GOLDEN, Colo., April 30, 2009 – Donald L. Paul will speak during the Colorado School of Mines commencement ceremony – where the Mines Board of Trustees will award 522 bachelor of science degrees, 116 master’s degrees and 26 doctorate degrees – on May 8 at 9:30 a.m. on Kafadar Commons, 1500 Illinois St. in Golden.

Paul had a distinguished career at Chevron, retiring in 2008 as the corporation’s vice president and chief technology officer. During his 33-year tenure at Chevron, he held a variety of positions in research and technology, exploration and production operations, and executive management, including service as president of Chevron’s Canadian subsidiary.

Currently, Paul is executive director of the University of Southern California Energy Institute, which was launched in 2008 to create a university-based framework to support and expand opportunities in energy-related research, education and public policy development.

He was part of the 1997 Presidential Panel on Federal Energy Research and Development, the National Research Council, and the 2007 landmark study by the National Petroleum Council for the Secretary of Energy. He serves on a number of university, public and private sector advisory boards, including the Colorado School of Mines advisory board. He also serves as senior advisor for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

During the 135th commencement ceremony, Paul will be awarded an honorary degree.

Distinguished Achievement Medals will be presented to Bruce Clemens, former senior research scientist at the General Motors Research Laboratories and professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University; Stephen Enders, former president of Phelps Dodge Exploration Corporation and recently retired senior vice president of Newmont Mining Corporation; Mari Angeles Major-Sosias, vice president for AREVA, a French multinational nuclear energy company; and Tom Vander Ark, managing partner of Revolution Learning, a venture fund that invests in innovative learning tools and school networks, and previous executive director of Education for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.